city state · Iberia

Abdera

800 BCE – 206 BCE (approx.) · capital Abdera

A Phoenician trading port on the coast of Almería, at modern Adra, that later minted coins under Carthaginian and Roman rule.

Origins

Phoenician settlers founded Abdera in the 8th century BCE on the hill of Montecristo at modern Adra, at the mouth of the river Adra. It was one of a chain of Phoenician harbours along the southern coast of Iberia, with Sexi and Malaka, linking Gadir with the eastern Mediterranean.

Rule and society

Little is known of its government. Like its neighbours, Abdera lived from trade with the Iberian hinterland, fishing and the salting of fish. In the Punic period it fell under the influence of Carthage, and its later coins, inscribed in Punic letters, showed a temple facade with tuna fish.

Decline and legacy

After the Roman victory over Carthage in Hispania in 206 BCE Abdera came under Rome, keeping its coinage into the early empire. It continued as a small Roman town, and Strabo listed it among the Phoenician foundations of the coast.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Abdera. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/abdera-800
MLA
“Abdera.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/abdera-800. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Abdera.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/abdera-800.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Abdera’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/abdera-800 (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻